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THE ISLAND OF CANDIA; 



OR, 



ANCIENT CRETE. 



AN HISTORICAL, 



GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT 



THE ISLAND OF CANDIA, 



OR 



ANCIENT CRETE. 



XiD 



Slir THS AMJBHXOAN MINXSTSH AT FAH£S. 



\-\^ X. ^ ^^ Ck,.'^^ , 



EXTRACTED FROM THE NOVEMBER NO. OF THE SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER, FOR 1839. 



RICHMOND: ^ 



FROM THE PRESS OP THOMAS W. WHITE. 
1839. 




/J o 



THE ISLAND OF CANDIA, 



1 



The Island of Candia, the ancient Crete, is one of the 
most interesting regions, from its historical associations, 
which modern travellers can visit ; and it is not less 
worthy of examination from its geographical position, 
its natural features, and from the influence, which, 
under happier auspices, it might exert upon the various 
countries that surround it. It is the largest of the 
islands of the Mediterranean, and yields to none of 
them in the fertility of its soil and the beauty of its 
climate. It is, indeed, pressed down by an iron go- 
vernment — that of Mehemet Ali ; but it is to be hoped 
that this will either cease ere long, and allow the union 
of the island to the dominions of King Otho, or that 
such changes will be gradually introduced, as will be 
more conformable to the spirit of the age and the con- 
dition of the people. Accident led us to this island a 
short time since, but our personal observation was so 
limited, that we have little to tell, and no hair-breadth 
escapes to narrate to the reader. We were, however, 
successful enough to collect some valuable statistical 
information, concerning its condition and productions, 
from authentic sources, and we propose to communi- 
cate the result of our remarks, regretting, however, 
that circumstances will necessarily render these meager 
and imperfect. 

A slight inspection of the map of the Mediterranean, 
will show the advantageous position of this valuable 
island. It stretches from Greece to Egypt, actually 
barring the approach to the Archipelago and the Le- 
vant, and to tlie immense and fertile regions, which 
seek their outlets through them. When it is recollected 
that these embrace almost all the Turkish possessions, 
the provinces subjugated by the Pasha of Egypt, the 
greater part of the new kingdom of Greece, and no 
inconsiderable portion of the Russian dominions, we 
shall be ready to agree, that Aristotle had just grounds 
for the opinion he advanced, that few situations were 
more favorable for the foundation of a great empire. 
It touches the Adriatic Sea on one side, and the Nile on 
the other — thus forming the door, which can open or 
shut the maritime intercourse between important por- 
tions of Europe, Asia and Africa, and the rest of the 
world. France particularly has not been indifferent to 
the military and commercial advantages of this posi- 
tion, and to the aid she might draw from it in her 
efforts to acquire an ascendancy upon the Mediterra- 
nean, as was sufficiently evinced by the military mis- 
sion, entrusted to General Dumas, under the reign of 
Louis XVI. In the autobiography of that respectable 
man, interesting particularly to an American, from his 
personal participation, under Rochambeau, in the war 
of our revolution, is a curious narrative of his voyage 
to Crete, and a full account of the views of the French 
government in relation to the possession of the island. 
General Dumas examined the whole country minutely, 
and presented, on his return, an able report exhibiting 
all the facts necessary for the action of the ministry. 
But the elements of a great political change were then 



in operation in France, and a storm was gathering, 
which soon burst upon that country and upon Europe 
with a frightful violence, little favorable in its com- 
mencement to the realization of projects of distant ag- 
grandizement. But the advantages of the island are 
too obvious to escape the statesmen of the present day ; 
and Mr. Lamartine has very recently proposed at the 
French tribune — in a speech, not less remarkable for its 
apparent contempt of national faith and established 
rights, than from the consideration that it proceeded 
from an eminent author, whose writings abound with 
declamatory passages upon religion and morality — to 
take possession of Crete and to hold it as a permanent 
military station. He has been much less happy in de- 
monstrating the justice of his project, than in exhibiting 
the value of the possession which he covets for his 
country. And in one of the latest works upon the 
East, which has issued from the English press, con- 
taining an account of Candia, the travels of captain 
Scott of the staff corps of the British army, there is a 
labored memoir, pointing out its value to Great Britain, 
and endeavoring to show that it is useless to the Pasha 
of Egypt, and that he would willingly cede it as the 
price of the recognition of the hereditary right of his 
family to his other territories. 

When the reader recalls to his memory that Crete 
was the native country of the Titans, and of Saturn, 
of Jupiter, of Vesta, of Ceres, of Juno, of Neptune, 
of Pluto — all the latter occupying the most distin- 
guished places in heathen mythology — of Minos, of 
Rhadamanthus, of Deucalion, and of Idomeneus; that 
in it were Mount Ida and the Labyrinth; that it 
was governed by the institutions of Minos, established 
originally by that lawgiver for its benefit ; that it was 
celebrated for its hundred cities before the war of Troy ; 
and that it sent to the memorable siege of that place 
eighty vessels, under its king Idomeneus, as we are 
told by the father of the Epopea — 

" Crete's hundred cities pour forth all her sons. 
These marclied, Idomeneus, beneath thy care 
And Merion dreadful as the god of war :" 

When all this is brought before us, it is easy to com- 
prehend that a very early state of civilization, and 
perhaps the occurrence of some extraordinary event, 
must have given great interest to this classic land in 
tl>e fabulous and traditional periods of the world, — an 
interest, which the subsequent course of its history 
kept alive, and which has descended to our times as a 
tribute, that the present always owes to the glory and 
decadence of the past. 

The vicissitudes of human power have never been 
more striking than in the moral, social, and political 
revolutions, which the progress of the history of this 
island exhibits to the observer. One of the cradles of 
civilization, remarkable in the earliest periods of the 
world for its contributions to the heathen mythology, 
to the systems of education and of legislation, and to 
many of the arts which minister to human comfort, it 



Island of Candia. 



3 



is not less remarkable for its political phases. It has 
been at times independent and subjugated, a monarchy, 
a republic, and a province. As a monarchy, it was 
governed by Minos, who is called by Hesiod the 
greatest of mortal kings. As a republic, it furnishes 
two lessons for the contemplation of all who are inte- 
rested in the study of human nature. It never under- 
took an external offensive war — and its duration, which 
extended to one thousand years, exceeds that of any 
other republican government upon record. Happy 
will our country be, if in following this example, we 
shall be able to equal the Cretan republic in modera- 
tion, and to exceed it in longevity. From an indepen- 
dent nation, it has passed successively under the 
domination of the Romans, the Arabs, the Greeks, the 
Latins, the Venitians, the Turks, and last, of the 
Egyptians. Once the missionary field of St. Paul and 
the Bishopric of Titus, it is now divided between the 
Moslem faith and a degraded branch of the Greek 
church; and the only sign of vital religion it exhibits, 
is to be found among a little band of generous and de- 
voted persons, who have brought back from the western 
continent, to this early seat of apostolic labor, the 
human means of reestablishing the primitive purity of 
the church, and who, with a few faithful disciples, have 
fixed their abode in a corner of the island, amid igno- 
rance, fanaticism and ruin. 

The slight allusion we have made to the early condi- 
tion of this island, sufficiently evinces, that it is one of 
the regions to which a branch of the human family 
directed the course of its emigration, not long after the 
separation from the parent stock in the central porions 
of Asia. The origin, early progress of settlement, and 
increase of nations, precede the period of authentic 
history, and are lost in the darkness of that remote 
epoch. It is to be regretted, indeed, that the infancy 
of nations has passed under circumstances which have 
left us no authentic memorials of the most interesting 
portion of human history. It is difiicult to conceive a 
nnore curious subject of observation and inquiry, than 
the first efforts of man to examine the world around 
him ; to accommodate himself to the circumstances of 
his position ; to learn how to provide for his animal 
wants ; to proceed step by step from one result of his 
experience to another, till he attains a knowledge of 
his true condition and a sentiment of his real power, 
and to place himself at the head of that creation which 
he is destined to embellish and to govern. But it is 
useless to speculate upon these topics; the necessary 
facts have forever escaped us. Writers are, indeed, 
anxious to discover, in the mythological fables and in 
the gross traditional tales which have come down to 
us, a shadowing out of the events that actually passed 
at that remote period ; and many a long day has been 
laboriously and we majT- add uselessly devoted to these 
investigations, equally uncertain in their process and 
profitless in their results. Unfortunately, we are often 
so eager to find remote causes, that we overlook those 
which are more natural and obvious; and in all these 
investigations, nothing is allowed for the wayward- 
ness of the human intellect and the fantasies of the 
human imagination. The prototypes, therefore, of 
these legendary monsters, we are determined to seek 
in nature, rather than in that creative intellectual 
power, which is never more fertile than in those 



periods when it is the least regulated by study and 
knowledge. 

The fabulous and traditional history of Crete abounds 
with illustrations of the preceding remarks. We need 
not recall them to the reader, because they cannot fail 
to be suggested by the simple enunciation of the names 
of the personages we have given, and whose renown 
occupies so large a space in the poetry and annals of 
the earlier ages. We pass over, therefore, the race 
and deeds of the Titans, and the celestial dynasty, 
descended from Saturn the eldest of them ; the reign 
of Minos and the life of Rhadamanthus, who were so 
distinguished for their justice, that they were called to 
preside over the tribunals in the infernal regions ; of 
the exploits of Theseus and the death of the Mino- 
taur; and of the other marvellous incidents with 
which this period abounds, and pause a moment to 
survey the condition of the island when authentic 
history first makes it known to us. 

It had then exchanged its monarchical for a republi- 
can government. Its executive, composed of ten ma- 
gistrates, elected annually, performed similar functions 
to those of the Ephori at Sparta, and probably formed 
the model of the constitution of the latter. A council 
of twenty-eight senators, named for life, was a check 
upon the executive authority ; but it is difficult to trace 
the respective limits of their power, or to ascertain how 
far a wise jealousy might be carried, before it degene- 
rated into one of those political contests before which 
human freedom has so often fallen. Its duration of ten 
centuries is a shining proof of the wisdom of its prac- 
tical operation ; and antiquity vaunts the enlightened 
men and virtuous citizens it formed. It was praised by 
Plato and Strabo and copied by Lycurgus ; it could 
have no higher eulogies. The notices which have come 
to us of its history and condition during this period are 
few and imperfect. It is evident, however, that the 
constitution of the island did not prevent internal dis- 
sentions ; and different cities fought for superiority, with 
all those incidents attending their alternate ascendancy 
and subjugation, which mark the history of the Gre- 
cian republics, continental and insular. To him, who 
seeks the causes of the decline and fall of these little 
interesting states, nothing can appear more contemp- 
tible than their differences, perpetually succeeding one 
another, nor more insensate than the course of the go- 
vernments and people, forever sacrificing their peace to 
the childish passions of the moment, and thus prepar- 
ing the way for the memorable fate which overtook 
them. In all history there is no chapter more interest- 
ing to the friends of equal governments, than that which 
describes the jealousy and dissentions of the Grecian 
people — nor any lesson more instructive than is exhi- 
bited by their consequences. They displayed so many 
bright spots during their passage over the horizon, that 
their memory will never fail to attract the admiration 
of mankind. But they set in a dark and troubled night. 

The Cretan archers and slingers were celebrated 
among the ancient warlike nations, and they rendered 
essential services in the retreat of the ten thousand, 
and swelled the army of Alexander in its triumphal 
progress through Asia. The secret springs of the 
Cretan policy are unknown, and we cannot, therefore, 
determine what motives induced the people to join the 
Persians against the Greeks. But the part they took 



Island of Candia. 



for Mithridates, brought them into contact with the 
Romans, then on their way to universal conquest, and 
furnished the cause or the pretext for their subjugation. 
War was declared against them, and Mark Anthony, 
the father of the Triumvir, attacked them, but was de- 
feated, and a great part of his fleet taken. Rome could 
pardon a conquered people, but never a victorious one ; 
and Metellus was sent to repair the disaster and to 
vindicate the honor of the Roman arms. He debarked 
upon the island without opposition ; but the Cretans 
soon collected their forces and maintained a vigorous 
resistance with varied success for three years, diversi- 
fied by a species of civil war among the invaders, in 
which a portion of their troops under Octavius joined 
the islanders. However, after the loss of a large por- 
tion of the inhabitants, and the destruction of several 
cities, the country was at length subdued and added to 
the list of subjugated nations. 

It then became a Roman province, and its fate for 
ages was bound up with that of the great metropolis. 
In the division of the empire, it fell to the lot of the 
eastern Emperors, and seems to have been comparatively 
flourishing, till it was almost ruined by a remarkable 
earthquake in the reign of Valentinian I. 

In 803 it became connected with the Spanish Sara- 
cens, whose romantic adventures furnish such an in- 
teresting episode in the history of the various kingdoms 
now composing the Spanish monarchy. One of those 
family disputes, which so often marked the progress of 
these Moorish adventurers, had broken out; and the 
unsuccessful party dreading the vengeance of their 
rivals, and determined not to submit to their authority, 
embarked under their leader and sailed over the Medi- 
terranean rather as pirates than as legitimate warriors. 
Attracted by the riches of Crete, they landed upon the 
island, but too feeble to conquer it, they ravaged the 
coasts, and safely retired with their plunder. But, 
tempted by the wealth of the country and its weak- 
ness, they returned the next year with a more formi- 
dable armament, and landed their armed colony. They 
made an incursion into the interior, and when they re- 
turned to the shore, they found their fleet in flames, 
and comprehended, that they had before them either a 
conquest or a tomb. Their leader frankly avowed, 
that this bold measure was his own, and replied to their 
remonstrances, that he had brought them to a land 
flowing with milk and honey, to their true country, 
where they would find wives to recompense them for 
those they had left. The conqueror of Mexico, when 
he burnt his fleet and showed his soldiers that they had 
to choose between the enemy and the sea, had perhaps 
read this lesson in the history of the roving bands 
which his own country had sent forth. There are 
limes when the rashest measures are the wisest, and it 
is the province of true genius to appreciate the circum- 
stances, and to seize the favorable moment for decisive 
action, taking care to distinguish between the difficult 
and the impossible. 

The Moslem leader reaped the reward of his bold 
enterprise. He defeated the armies which the Greek 
emperor, Michael, the stammerer, sent against him, and 
in less than three years established his domination over 
the island. He died some years later, and left to his 
successors a throne, the fruit of his wisdom and enter- 
prise. The Saracens continued in possession of Crete 



about one hundred and thirty-eight years, when their 
power was utterly broken, and the country restored to 
the Greek empire. This union continued till 1204, 
when the western Europeans having conquered Con- 
stantinople, the gratitude or the policy of Baldwin, 
elected emperor, induced him to cede the island to the 
Marquis of Montferrat, one of the leaders who had 
aided in elevating him to his new dignity. The new 
possessor, however, wanting gold more than territory, 
sold his kingdom the same year to the republic of Ve- 
nice, the merchant kings, who wielded equally the 
sword and the purse, ever ready to acquire from weak- 
ness or improvidence. 

During four centuries and a half the Venitians re- 
tained possession of Candia, and marked their govern- 
ment by a wise and vigorous course of administration. 
They repelled the efforts of the Genoese and of the 
Turks to wrest it from them, and improved the condi- 
tion of the inhabitants. Commerce was extended, the 
cities repaired, and traces of the prosperity of the 
country, at this period, have yet survived Turkish and 
Egyptian domination. 

The power, wealth, and enterprise of the small re- 
publics of Italy, during the middle ages, furnish a fertile 
subject for contemplation. Their history places in 
prominent relief the advantages of freedom and of 
commercial industry; and Venice and Genoa, particu- 
larly, have left many monuments of their successful 
progress from the Adriatic to the sea of Azoph. 

But a power had now arisen in the east, destined to 
alarm the western nations; and the lion of St. Mark 
was called upon to defend, by strenuous efforts, one of 
the most precious jewels in his ducal crown. In 1645 
the Turks attacked the island, and landing with a for- 
midable army, laid siege to ihe city of Canea. After a 
vigorous resistance this important place was taken, and 
the invaders extended their conquests in different di- 
rections. They had subjugated nearly half the island, 
when their progress was arrested by some of the bloody 
revolutions in the seraglio, which have so often stained 
the course of Turkish history. As the Moslem efibrts 
relaxed, those of the Venitians were redoubled, and 
their fleets rode triumphant upon the Levant, and ac- 
tually took possession of the island of Tenedos, which 
commands the entrance of the Dardanelles. But the 
fanaticism and perseverance of the Turkish character 
were never more strikingly displayed than in the pro- 
gress of this long contest. They succeeded in retain- 
ing their hold in Candia, and though the siege of its 
capital was interrupted, and offensive operations sus- 
pended, still the Venitians could not expel them. The 
latter, tired with this bitter and expensive war, pro- 
posed, through the mediation of the French ambassa- 
dor at Constantinople, to divide the island between 
themselves and their enemies ; but the offer was indig- 
nantly rejected, and under such circumstances, that 
Louis XIV, wounded in his pride, broke with the 
Turks and joined himself to the Venitians. The 
succors he furnished, though they delayed the final 
result, yet could not change it. 

The Grand Vizier Kiuperli, one of the most cele- 
brated warriors known in the Ottoman annals, was then 
at the helm of the Turkish government, and after re- 
pairing the disasters of his fleet, retook from the Ve- 
nitians their late conquests, and pushed his operations 



island of Candia. 



in Candia. The city of Candia had already been in- 
vested during some years, when the Grand Vizier him- 
self, in 1667, after the most formidable preparations, 
debarked upon the island, with large reinforcements 
and an immense supply of all the materiel of war 
necessary to the most vigorous prosecution of the siege. 
Then commenced that death-struggle, for the posses- 
sion of this important place, which arrested the atten- 
tion of Europe, and which gave place to a series of the 
most romantic adventures in the whole history of human 
daring. The siege itself was the longest upon record. 
It continued uninterruptedly ten years. Tradition, 
indeed, has given to Troy a similar contest of equal 
duration. But there is little versimilitude in the gene- 
ral contour of the facts of the Trojan war ; and imagi- 
nation, rather than authentic history, has probably 
supplied us with the course of its operations. The 
conduct of the Greeks is utterly irreconcilable with 
the rudest principles of the art of war. Professing to 
attack a fortified city at some distance from the coast, 
they sit down upon the shore, and occasionally advance 
into the plain to meet the Trojans in the open field, or 
depart upon distant expeditions for the collection of 
prisoners and plunder. There were no lines of circum- 
vallation, nor the slightest attempt to invest the city 
during almost the whole of the war. We looked care- 
fully over the plain of the Troad, and whatever place 
may be selected for the site of the lost city, it is not 
the less obvious, that the hostile parties kept themselves 
at a respectable distance from each other, and that the 
country was as open to the Trojans as the sea to the 
Greeks. The theatre of operations was a level plain, 
enclosed between the ridges of Ida, the Archipelago, 
and the Hellespont, having in its front the small island 
of Tenedos. It required a more vigorous imagination 
than has fallen to our lot, to recognise in either of the 
little marshy streams which wind their way through it, 
the rivers so raagniloquently described in the Iliad, and 
with epithets not inapplicable to our own Ohio and 
Mississippi. Indeed, the prestige of the plain and its 
associations was almost destroyed by our first access to 
the shore. At a little distance from the place of land- 
ing, upon a rising ground, we perceived a Turkish vil- 
lage — approached it, as well to gratify our curiosity, as 
to procure information. When almost upon the point 
of entering, a number of persons made violent gesticu- 
lations, which we could not understand ; but on the 
arrival of our interpreter, who had fallen in the rear, 
we found the plague was raging there, and that the 
object of this friendly warning was to prevent our 
entrance. It was the fourth of July, when we roamed 
over this celebrated plain, recalling, at the same time, 
the birth of one of the youngest nations, and the death 
of one of the oldest. 

But we must follow the struggles of the contending 
parties, under the beleaguered walls of Candia. The 
natural position of the city was strong, and its fortifi- 
cations had been carefully improved, till it had become 
one of the most powerful fortresses of the age, and it 
was defended by able and zealous officers, and by ten 
thousand men. And well it needed these advantages, 
for the Grand Vizier was a renowned warrior, and had 
invested the place with an army of eighty thousand 
men, and he had at his command the resources of a 
mighty empire. During more than two years the ope- 



rations were carried on without intermission, and all 
the arts of attack and defence were mutually exhausted. 
Human life is nothing in a Moslem army ; and the 
Turkish general sacrificed his soldiers without scruple, 
satisfied if he shed christian blood, and regardless at 
what expense. The fortifications were battered in 
breach and levelled ; mines were exploded ; trenches 
filled up, and assaults attempted. But christian forti- 
tude still held out against Mahomedan fanaticism. 
The injuries were repaired as fast as made ; and the 
most desperate attempts at escalade, led on by the 
Grand Vizier in person, were successfully met and re- 
pelled. The Pope was at length roused from inactivity 
or indifference, and began to regard with anxiety the 
prospect of the fall of one of the bulwarks of chi-is- 
tendom before the Mahometan power. A crusade was 
preached — but alas! the times had changed, since Peter 
the Hermit excited the enthusiasm of Europe, and led 
the western nations to a long and terrible contest, as 
irrational in its objects, as it was fruitless in its results. 
However, many of the ardent youth of Europe, led 
away by a generous sympathy, embarked for Candia 
and joined the Venitian forces ; thus supplying, from 
time to time, the loss occasioned by disease and the 
sword. It was a period of peace, and many, who 
were desirous of military renown, coveted the glory 
of being taught in such a school. The engineers 
particularly sought this distinction, — and Vauban, 
among others, carried there the tribute of his expe- 
rience. 

Notwithstanding the generous ardor thus displayed, 
and the pertinacity of the defence, the Turks pressed 
on, and in the spring of 1669, after a series of desperate 
actions, succeeded in gaining possession of one of the 
principal outworks and reducing the fortifications al- 
most to a heap of ruins. Candia approached its fall, 
when suddenly a French fleet, carrying seven thousand 
men, arrived to the aid of the defenders. They landed 
on the very eve of an intended final assault; but their 
presence dispirited the Turks, and the contemplated 
effort was abandoned. The French, however, could 
not consent to defend the city behind its ramparts. 
They immediately made a sortie, with all the ardor of 
their nation, and with all the enthusiasm inspired by 
the nature of the war in which they found themselves 
engaged. Their attack was so desperate and unex- 
pected, that the Turkish army was thrown into imme- 
diate disorder and suflTered a heavy loss. Had the as- 
sailants then retired, and coolly undertaken the defence 
of the place, the respect taught by this vigorous eflfort, 
and by the reinforcement itself, would probably have 
pai'alyzed the operations of the enemy, and might have 
led to the relief of the city. But the morning light 
disclosed the small number of the christians, and at the 
moment when these were upon the point of carrying 
the Ottoman entrenchments, a powder magazine be- 
longing to the Turks blew up, and the French, fearing 
the whole ground was mined, retired in disorder, 
leaving a large number dead upon the field, among 
whom was their general, the Duke of Beaufort. 

This disaster sealed the fate of the unfortunate city, 
and with it the domination of the Venitians over the 
island. Disunion soon sprung up among the discordant 
materials composing the defence, and one after another, 
the volunteers, abandoned a task which appeared hope- 



6 



Island of Candia. 



less, and retired as they could to their respective coun- 
tries. The Turks, concentrating their energy, and 
encouraged by these circumstances, made a vigorous 
assault, which ended in putting them in possession of 
one of the principal defences, and in opening to them a 
passage in the heart of the city. It was determined, 
therefore, to surrender; and a capitulation was entered 
into, which was followed by the withdrawal of the 
Venitians, and the establishment of the Turkish power 
over the island. 

Since that period it has had its full share in the mise- 
ries entailed upon all the christian people subjected to 
the Mahometan yoke. The disasters, occasioned by 
this long contest, have never been repaired, and never 
will be, till the government of the island is in other 
hands. 

It was divided into three Pashaliks, and subjected to 
three rapacious despots. In consequence of some in- 
ternal dissentions between them, a band of the native 
mountaineers obtained permission to govern themselves. 
But this concession not being regarded with fidelity, 
frequent contests were the result, till in 1821, theCan- 
diotes joined the other Greeks in their attempt to shake 
off the Turkish yoke. Not being able to subdue them, 
the Sultan ceded the island to Mehemet Ali, who soon 
obtained possession of it, and it yet forms an integral 
part of his dominions. 

It was the 29th July, 1837, that emerging from the 
beautiful group of the Cyclades, we approached the 
ancient kingdom of Minos. We had run down from 
Constantinople with a favoring breeze and delightful 
weather, and had passed the various isles and islets 
which '* crown" this glorious " deep," and which have 
been the theatres of events that will forever render 
them celebrated in the annals of mankind. All of 
them are small specks, hardly distinguishable upon the 
map of the world, and some of them are mere rocks; 
but there is a deathless interest attached to them, which 
time cannot annihilate, and which will survive all the 
revolutions, social or political, they are destined to un- 
dergo. This sentiment is a generous tribute to the 
dignity of human nature. It is not wealth, nor power, 
nor numbers, which impose upon the imagination. It 
is none of these, nor the memory of these, which bring 
the trans-atlantic pilgrim, from the bustle and business 
and enterprise of a new world, to contemplate these 
scenes of former civilization and of present decay. No! 
he renders his homage to a nobler idol — to the memory 
of genius, industry, advancement in civilization, pro- 
gress in the arts and sciences, and the cultivation of 
whatever can best promote the interests of human 
nature. 

We had passed by Lemnos, Tenedos, Mitylene, the 
ancient Lesbos, Scio, Delos, Syra or Syros, Paros, and 
the various other islands, which deck these seas, and 
whose names and history are familiar to the reader ; and 
we had stopped at several of them to examine their 
condition and to run over their interesting remains. 
The compression, if we may so speak, of scenes and 
events, within a narrow compass, and the powerful 
emotions which this short voyage is calculated to excite, 
may be appreciated by this striking fact, that at one 
point of our passage, we had in view at the same 
moment, Syra,Tinos, Andros, Delos, Mycone, Naxos, 
Paros, Antiparos, Siphanto and Serpho. We had 



passed in the distance the island of Patmos, the resi- 
dence of St. John, and, if not the scene of the revela- 
tions made to him, the place where he wrote the Apo- 
calypse which recorded them. 

Our own internal seas present masses of water as 
large and some of them larger, than this "Egean 
deep," and abound with picturesque objects, almost 
unrivalled in the world. The entrance into Lake 
Superior, with the shores embosomed in woods, the 
high lands gradually opening and receding on, each 
side, and the water, as clear as crystal, extending 
beyond the reach of the eye, forms one of the most 
striking displays of natural beauties it has ever 
fallen to our lot to witness. And a scene, almost 
equally impressive, though of a different character, 
attends the traveller who crosses the small arm of Lake 
Huron, between the island of Michilimackinac and the 
entrance of the straits of St. Marie, which communicate 
with Lake Superior.^ One bright summer morning we 
found ourselves making this passage, and as the sun dis- 
played his disk above the water which surrounded us, we 
were surprised by a singularly interesting spectacle. We 
were accompanied by a fleet of three hundred Indian 
canoes, which had left Michilimackinac in the night, in 
order to make the passage, before the wind — which 
strengthens as the day advances — should rerfder the 
voyage dangerous, for the frail birch vessels in which 
they navigate the rivers and lakes, that furnish them 
with so much of their subsistence. These Indians had 
made their usual annual visit to Michilimackinac, to 
sell their peltries and procure supplies of ammunition 
and clothing, and to talk over their public affairs with 
the representative of the government stationed there ; 
at that time Mr. Schoolcraft, to whose worth as a 
citizen, and to whose exemplary conduct as a public 
officer, we are happy to have this opportunity of bear- 
ing testimony. They were returning in high spirits, 
having with them all their families, as is the usual 
custom of the Indians in these excursions, and having 
also a supply of the articles most necessary to enable 
them to contend with the hardships incident to their 
mode of life. The lake was perfectly smooth, the In- 
dians animated, paddling with their utmost energy, and 
singing their various songs, with a strength of lungs 
which sent these far over the water. The whole dis- 
play was full of life, and we recall it with the most 
pleasant emotions. But these scenes upon our Indian 
border, whether still or animated, are feeble in their 
effects upon the human mind, when compared with the 
impressions produced in the theatre where we were 
now moving. Distance, however, no where lends en- 
chantment to the view more than here. But the naked- 
ness of reality comes painfully to destroy some of these 
delusions on a near approach. All these islands are 
destitute of timber, naked as a vast prairie, but with- 
out one other point of resemblance. They are gene- 
rally rocky, broken by ravines, and to the eye nothing 
can appear more sterile. The mode of culture, when 
they are cultivated, is slovenly, the inhabitants indo- 
lent, the houses mean and dirty, and the towns and 
villages in a state of decay, and yet we visit them with 
the deepest interest. We visit them for what they 
have been, and in spite of what they are. 

One of the most renowned is the little islet of Delos, 
or rather the two morsels of rock and earth known 



Island of Candia. 



under that name, but separated by a narrow channel, 
furnishes the most striking illustration of these remarks, 
and the most complete picture of desolation, which 
even these regions exhibit. In our lonely walk amid 
its ruins, we did not meet a single human being. What 
a contrast between this almost frightful solitude and its 
former condition, when it was filled by busy crowds 
which inhabited it, or which continually flocked to it 
to worskip at its temples, as the Jews went up to Jeru- 
salem to render their devotions to the living God ! 

The sanctity of this chosen spot, is one of the facts 
best known in the history of ancient manners. It was 
the birth place of Apollo and Diana, and its three fa- 
mous temples were dedicated respectively to the brother 
and sister and to their mother Latona. Their ruins 
yet attest the extent and splendor of these edifices; to 
the construction and embellishment of which the various 
states of Greece contributed with a generous spirit of 
rivalry, evincing the liberality of their disposition and 
the ardor of their religious faith. This island was holy 
ground, a place of refuge, w^here even enemies were 
friends when they met upon it. Livy i-elates an inte- 
resting anecdote upon this subject. A commission of 
Roman deputies going to Syria and Egypt were com- 
pelled to stop at Delos, where they found a number of 
galleys belonging to the kings of Macedonia and Per- 
garaos at anchor, although these two princes were then 
at war. The historian adds, that the Romans, Mace- 
donians, and Pergamians, met and conversed in the 
temple, as though they had been friends. The sanctity 
of the place suspended all hostilities. 

In like manner, when the victorious Persian squad- 
rons swept the Grecian seas, and landed detachments, 
which ravaged the other islands, the commander spared 
Delos, and even reproached the inhabitants for having 
quitted it upon his approach, adding, " Why have you 
quitted your dwellings, and thus marked the bad opinion 
you have of me ? I am not your enemy by choice — 
and besides I am ordered by my king not to commit 
hostilities in a country, where two divinities were born, 
and to use no violence towards those who inhabit it. 
Return then, and resume possession of your houses and 
lands!" 

And in this island, thus venerated, we saw, not the 
marbles actually in the process of being burnt into lime, 
but the pits where the lime had been made, and where, 
perhaps, some of the most beautiful works of antiquity 
had been prepared to form the mortar for a miserable 
cottage. It is said, that heretofore the inhabitants of 
Mycone rented this island from the Turkish govern- 
ment at the annua! price of ten crowns! Such a pic- 
ture admits no other trait. 

As the last island of the -^gean group sunk in the 
horizon, Crete rose before us, extending east and west, 
and presenting its diversified shores to our view. The 
aspect was rugged, and the coast precipitous and iron- 
bound, while in the interior arose a range of mountains, 
upon whose summits the clouds were resting. We 
steered for the bay of Suda, and entered it without 
accident, mooring our noble frigate in its quiet waters. 

This bay is one of the most magnificent ports in the 
world, stretching inland about six miles, with a breadth 
of three, capacious enough to contain the most power- 
ful navy, and with sufficient depth of water for any 
vessel that floats. Its entrance is narrow, and divided 



by two small islands, on one of which is a little fortress, 
completely commanding the approach. We were told 
that the commanding officer was a bon-vivant, who 
loved wine better than the Koran ; and that the captain 
of one of our armed vessels, who was desirous of en- 
tering the harboi-, but who was prevented by the new 
quarantine regulations, which Mehemet Ali has re- 
cently adopted, found his way to the Egyptian's heart 
through a bottle of champagne, who, disregarding the 
fear of the plague and the fear of the Pasha, dispensed 
with the sanitary precautions and admitted his new 
friend to praii^ue without hesitation. Whatever opinion 
may be entertained respecting the progress of the 
Turks in the manners of the western Europeans in 
other respects, there is none in this, that the higher 
classes are fast acquiring the habit of drinking wine, 
and some of them a much stronger liquid. The pen- 
chant of the late Sultan for this indulgence, was well 
known through the empire, and could not fail to pro- 
duce by its example a powerful influence. Ibrahim 
Pasha is a confirmed toper ; and if we should use a 
harsher word, we should probably convey to our readers 
a still juster idea of the extent to which he carries this 
habit. In Damascus, we found the table of the go- 
vernor general of Syria loaded with wine; and his con- 
fidential friend and physician, a French gentleman, ob- 
served, significantly and jocosely, that his patron had 
fifteen thousand books in his library. We did not need 
the arch look, which accompanied these words, to enable 
us to correct the errata ; for books, read bottles of 
wine. 

Still this practice is neither altogether general nor 
public, and we found that much prejudice was excited 
against those who indulged themselves too freely and 
openly. A respectable French officer, high in the con- 
fidence of the Pasha, has renounced Christianity and 
embraced the Moslem faith. We found him in com- 
mand of the ancient city of Sidon, and he is at this 
moment the second officer in the army of Ibrahim 
Pasha, which is defending the entrance of Syria against 
the Turks. His new religion must sit lightly upon 
him, and the devout Mussulmen do not appear to have 
much confidence in the faith of their proselyte. What 
sort of a follower of the prophet can he be ? said they ; 
he never goes to the mosque ; he drinks wine and eats 
pork. The days of Turkish fanaticism are indeed 
past. The time has been, and not long since, when his 
turban would not have protected his neck from the 
scimitar or the bowstring. 

The entrance of the bay of Suda is from the east, 
and beyond is a high projecting point, which completely 
shelters it from the sea. To the north and the south 
are rugged hills, but to the west the break between the 
ridges continues and forms a level valley, which opens 
in about two miles at the city of Canea. There are 
two small villages upon the bay, occupying the decli- 
vity of the southern range of hills. The scenery is not 
uninteresting, relieved by little orchards of olive trees, 
that precious gift of Providence, whose production is 
so essential to the inhabitants of the east. The plain 
leading to Canea is covered with a light sandy soil, and 
abounds in water, which might be used for the purpose 
of irrigating the crops, but which is almost wholly 
neglected. There are some villages upon the route, 
and traces of a considerable population. 



8 



Island of Candia. 



Canea occupies the site of the ancient Cydonia, the 
mother city of the island, renowned for its power and 
opulence, and which was the theatre of many interest- 
ing events in the history of Crete. But the modern 
town extends over a small part only of the ancient one. 

It is not the political capital of the island, but it is 
the place of the greatest commerce — and this preemi- 
nence it owes to its position in the most fertile region, 
to its port, where vessels of three hundred tons can 
enter, and to its vicinity, being within two miles to the 
bay of Suda, which affords safe anchorage to the- 
largest ships. 

It was formerly strongly fortified by the Venitians, 
but a portion of the works have been demolished, and 
another portion is in a state of dilapidation. This 
neglect is of the less importance, as it is probable the 
future possession of the island will depend more upon 
the decision of diplomacy than upon military expe- 
ditions. 

The harbor is small and obstructed by ruins, and 
not safe in a northern gale. The buildings are old and 
in a state of decay, and every thing shows that the 
hand of oppression has weighed heavily upon the 
wretched population. 

Mehemet Ali has established a rigid police through 
his dominions. Whoever possesses sufficient knight- 
errantry to seek dangers, either for the sake of record- 
ing them, or from any higher motive, would waste his 
time if he stopped in either of the provinces subjected 
to the sway of the Egyptian Pasha. He chooses to 
be, through himself or his agents, the only oppressor in 
his government; a part, indeed, which he fulfils with 
admirable ability. But the traveller is safe, not only 
in his person, but he is generally protected from impo- 
sition and extortion. In traversing the island of Crete, 
he would have nothing to fear but the usual casualties 
of a journey and the fatigues to which he would be 
exposed by the state of the country and the manners 
of the inhabitants. 

From the bay of Suda we sailed down the coast, 
passing Retimo, the third city in importance, after 
Candia and Canea, in the island. It was a place of 
much distinction in the time of the Venitians, and it is 
filled with the evidences of their power and wealth in 
every state of decay. It stands upon a low cape, but 
its harbor is not well sheltered, and the mole which 
formed it has been almost destroyed. The channel 
has been so filled up with an accumulation of sand, 
that no vessels drawing more than thirty tons can enter. 
Those of larger tonnage must remain in an open road- 
stead. 

The population is about eight thousand, and its com- 
merce is principally carried on with Greece and the 
islands of the Archipelago. 

When we arrived at Candia, the capital of the island, 
we unfortunately found Mehemet Ali there, with a part 
of his fleet, anchored before the town. We say unfor- 
tunately, because he had just given, in his own person, 
an example of submission to his quarantine regulations, 
which left us no hope of a relaxation in our favor, as 
we had visited a suspected port within the limited 
period. Not having, at our disposition, the time neces- 
sary to procure admission, we abandoned the island 
and bore up for the Holy Land. 

The city of Candia presents ra.ther an imposing as- 



pect from the sea. In its rear is a range of mountains 
which extend through the island, and from amid which 
the snow-covered top of Ida is prominently distinguish- 
able from the rest of the chain. In the distance the 
city is thrown with beautiful effect against this ridge, 
though in fact it is surrounded by a considerable plain. 
The mountains, however, diminish much in height and 
the chain is almost interrupted, so that the gaps furnish 
convenient routes for traversing the island from north 
to south. The plain extends to the base of the ridge 
from which Ida projects. 

The city contains about twelve or fourteen thousand 
inhabitants. It has a mole and a small port for vessels 
of light burthen ; but for those of greater depth of 
water, it affords no protection but an open roadstead. 
It presents the aspect of an old Venitian town, rather 
than that of a Turkish one. The streets are wide and 
paved, but in a rough manner. There are some foun- 
tains, and occasional rows of trees, which produce an 
agreeable effect. The fortifications are nearly in the 
state the Venitians left them, somewhat repaired, in 
the most necessary places, but generally dilapidated. 
The guns are old and apparently unserviceable, almost 
as dangerous to the possessors as to their enemies. 
The bazaars are tolerably well supplied, and on the 
whole there is an agreeable air of business and neatness 
in the city, presenting a favorable contrast to the gene- 
ral aspect of Turkish towns. 

The island of Candia extends about one hundred 
and sixty miles from east to west, and about thirty 
from north to south in its widest part. It is divided by 
a ridge of mountains, running longitudinally through 
the island, and separating the northern from the 
southern part. Towards the centre, this ridge is less 
elevated and precipitous, and communications from one 
coast to the other have been easily established ; but 
elsewhere the passage is more difficult and the aspect 
of the interior more savage. The roads, or rather 
passes, have been wholly neglected, and are now tedious 
and dangerous. Wheel carriages are unknown, and 
the transportation of the productions to the coast forms 
an important portion of their cost to the purchaser. 
Frequently the solid masonry of the old Venitian 
bridges has survived the roads they were intended to 
connect, and evince the former flourishing condition of 
the country. There are no rivers — the streams descend- 
ing from the mountains not deserving that name — but 
springs and rivulets are abundant, and under happier 
auspices might be employed in irrigating the fields. 
But, alas! the country presents almost one scene of 
desolation. It is well known that the olive is a tree of 
slow growth, requiring many years to reach maturity 
and to produce its fruit. The ruthless Turks have cut 
down a large portion of these trees, the work of centu- 
ries, and thus extended their vengeance to succeeding 
generations, We found the same result elsewhere in 
the east, wherever in fact man had arrayed himself 
against man. The first act of oppression is to cut 
down the olive trees around a village, and then the 
labor of destruction is almost complete, for the misera- 
ble hovels are not worth the trouble of demolition. 
The plain from Athens to the Piraeus was heretofore a 
magnificent olive orchard, but now its superb trees have 
almost disappeared, leaving scattered individuals to 
attest its former magnificence. With a little bread and a 



Island of Candia. 



9 



few olives a Greek soldier perfornjs his duties and cheer- 
fully encounters the painful marches over the rugged 
paths tlirough his country. And the Greek peasant is 
happy, if he can provide a scanty supply of this favorite 
food for his wife and children. We were told at Athens 
of a curious division of property, by which, frequently, 
the ground belonged to one man, the tree to another, 
and the product to a third. We were also told what 
was the principle by which these respective rights were 
regulated and the rent of the owners secured. But we 
Lave no space for its development. 

About twenty miles from the city of Candia, at the 
base of Mount Ida, is the cavern so celebrated under 
the name of the Labyrinth. It is in the vicinity of the 
site of the ancient city of Gortyna, whose remains yet 
attest its former power and opulence. The credulity 
of the ancients and their predisposition to the marvel- 
lous, are in nothing more remarkable than in the fabu- 
lous recitals concerning this " Big Cave," as it would 
be called in Kentucky, and the exaggeration of many 
modern travellers has been scarcely less marked, and is 
certainly much less excusable. That it was originally 
a natural cavern in a soft limestone rock, there is no 
doubL Many of the chambers and passages have been 
increased by the hand of man. And the wonder is not 
that this should have been done, and this subterranean 
asylum occasionally resorted to by the inhabitants of 
the neighboring regions ; but that in an enlightened age, 
doubts should have been elevated into mystery, and 
much learned charlatanism employed to envelope a very 
plain subject with difficulties. "When the proximity of 
the city of Gortyna is recollected, and the contests in 
■which it was involved for ages, together with the gene- 
ral state of insecurity, which has often prevailed upon 
this island, what more natural than that the inhabitants 
should occasionally seek refuge for themselves and their 
property in this secluded cavern, so difficult to be dis- 
covered and so easy to be defended ; or, that in a suc- 
cession of ages, the natural fissures in the rock should 
have been enlarged, and the whole work rendered more 
capacious and more comfortable ? We are persuaded 
that this is the natural solution of all the mystery at- 
tending this subject. As to the story of the Lab5'rinth, 
and the thousand fables connected with it, they do not 
merit a moment's serious consideration, except so far as 
they furnish materials for an interesting chapter in the 
history of human nature ; evincing on the one hand 
the fertility of the imagination, and, on the other, the 
extent to which credulity may be carried, either in an 
implicit belief in a monstrous fable, or in a more chas- 
tened faith, seeking the materials in bygone events, 
and gravely endeavoring to account for the violations, 
not only of probability, but of possibility, by combining 
some allegorical mystery with traditional facts. 

One cannot but be struck with the resemblance be- 
tween this cavern, and those to be found in the lime- 
stone regions of Kentucky. The description of the 
former is absolutely applicable to the latter, leaving not 
the slightest doubt but that they owe their origins to 
the same common causes. If the traditions of the abo- 
riginal inhabitants of Kentucky had been preserved, it 
may be that they would have furnished us a story 
quite as interesting as the adventures of Theseus and 
the destruction of the Minotaur. And if they had 
found a record as lasting and as beautiful as the Koman 



poet has bequeathed to posterity, we might not have 
envied the Cretan wonder the description of its 

" Parietibus textum coecis iter, ancipkemqoe 
Mille viis babuisse dolum" 

in the time of the Greeks. 

It is estimated that Crete contained twelve hundred 
thousand inhabitants. In the mutation of its fortunes, 
these have been successively reduced, so that under 
the government of the Venitians, they did not reach 
one miUion ; but the diminution was frightfully acce- 
lerated by the Turkish yoke, which, with its accustomed 
destructive power, had brought this number down to 
about two hundred and eighty thousand before the 
commencement of the Greek revolution ; and at pre- 
sent it does not exceed one hundred and seventy thou- 
sand, of whom one hundred and thirty thousand are 
Greeks and forty thousand Mahometans, The state of 
the population in former ages is sufficiently indicated 
by the accounts which are given of its hundred cities, 
" Cenrom urbes habitant magnas" 

and the epithet even which Homer applies to it, "Creta 
Hecatompolis," marks the progress it must have made 
at that early period in the elements of wealth and 
power. And though this number of one hundred may 
have been rather a round one than numerically exact, 
still no doubt can exist, but that there were a great 
number of important towns in this island, towards the 
commencement of authentic history. Phny, after enu- 
merating nearly twenty cities upon the coast and as 
many in the interior, all existing in his time, adds, that 
the memory of sixty others was still preserved. The 
renown which the island enjoyed among the ancients, 
for its fertility and the mildness of its climate, is well 
borne out by these evidences of its adaptation to the 
support of a dense population. 

The repulsive efiects of Turkish conquest upon the 
countries subdued by the Mahometans, is one of the 
distinctive traits of their religious and social institu- 
tions. Among other nations there is a slow but gradual 
tendency towards amalgamation between the invaders 
and the invaded ; and generally in a succession of ages, 
the peculiar characteristics of each are so softened, if 
not annihilated, that the original differences disappear 
and cease to produce any effect upon the new society, 
Xot so with the followers of Mahomet, Their fanati- 
cism never slumbers, and their religious dogmas raise 
an impassable barrier between themselves and the in- 
habitants of the countries overrun by them. It is a 
cardinal principle, not only of their policy but of their 
faith, that all the people they subdue, have justly for- 
feited their lives ; and it is a practical corollary, that 
whether these shall be spared or not is a simple ques- 
tion of expediency. The English law is not the only 
one which delights in fictions ; the Turkish code con- 
tains at least one of these subtle contrivances, by 
which results are obtained not originally contemplated 
by the lawgiver. When the conquered Rayahs are 
freed from military execution, this exertion of Mussul- 
man mercy is not a pardon but a reprieve. The pe- 
nalty always hangs over them, and is ransomed from 
year to year by a tax, constituting a considerable ilern 
in the Turkish budget. Every person in the Tvu-kish 
empire, not a Mahometan, pays this yearly contribu- 
tion, under the pretence of its being due to the Sultan, 



10 



Island of Candid. 



for his clemency in permitting the infidel dog to live 
under the shadow of his throne during another year. 

As to intermarriages between the professors of Mos- 
lemism and Christianity, this mode of uniting the races 
is impossible, because every such union is punishable 
■with death, and the most sedulous attention seems to 
have been exerted in other respects to preserve the 
same system of separation. The Turk adopts a pecu- 
liar costume, one, which till lately, has not changed, 
and which has probably been unvaried since the days 
of Abraham ; and .he prescribes, if not all the costume, 
at least a part of it, which his conquered subjects shall 
wear. In courts of justice the christian's statement is 
A'alueless, and he has little to hope from a legal contro- 
versy with a fellow subject of the favored caste. The 
cardinal principle of the Turkish polity seems to have 
been, that a Mahometan is made to govern and a chris- 
tian to submit ; and this principle has been carried out 
in all the various forms that a complicated state of 
society presents. We say has been, because great 
changes have come over the Turkish institutions and 
greater yet seem to be in progress. 

At this moment, in the island of Crete, the condition 
of the Mahometans, if not actually worse than that of 
the Greeks, promises less melioration. The former 
are generally all poor, with the exception of a few rich 
Agas. Before the revolution they were Janissaries, 
and were maintained by their privileges and by the 
taxes and extortions wrung from the latter. But now 
this redoubtable order is suppressed, and its remains, 
driven to their own resources, are barely able to pro- 
cure the necessaries of life. Their number is in a 
state of rapid declension ; while the Greeks, relieved 
from some of the oppressions which weighed them 
down, and finding their industry better rewarded, and 
their acquisitions better protected, are gradually ad- 
vancing in improvement. Our intelligent informant 
told us, that four years ago scarcely a house was stand- 
ing or a field cultivated j but that now the signs of 
prosperous industry began to meet the eye of the 
traveller in different parts of the island. 

The principal agricultural product of Crete is the 
olive. It gives the most profitable return ; though, at 
present, from the dearth of labor, it is estimated that 
more than one-fifth of the olive trees are neglected ; 
laborers not being found to gather the fruit. Wheat is 
also a staple article, but unfortunately the province of 
Messara, heretofore most devoted to its culture, was 
one of the districts which suffered most from the revo- 
lution ; and this circumstance, with the general depres- 
sion of agriculture, has led to such a diminution in the 
supply, that large quantities of this article have been 
imported for consumption. However, the culture be- 
gins to revive. 

The same causes have operated to depress the pro- 
duction of another of the staple articles of Crete — that 
of wine. The soil and climate are favorable to the 
growth of the vine, and several species of grape have 
been cultivated, producing different kinds of wine 
much esteemed, and which were formerly in demand 
for exportation. But the supply is now restricted to 
the domestic consumption ; though, as agriculture and 
manufactures revive, there is little doubt but that this 
branch of industry will be again cultivated with suc- 
cess. 



Crete produces the following articles for exportation : 

Oil. — Which is peculiarly adapted from its quality to 
the manufacture of soap, though the quantity varies 
greatly from year to year. 

Silk. — Of a superior quality, but in small quantities. 

Raisins. 

Honey. — Highly esteemed through the east. 

Chesnuts. — An important article of consumption in 
these regions. Those of Crete are in much demand 
through the Archipelago. 

Cheese. — Formerly Crete possessed large flocks of 
sheep, and there was manufactured from their milk a 
cheese, known under the name of sphakian, esteemed 
through the east. The troubles in the island led ne- 
cessarily to the diminution of the flocks, but they are 
now increasing, and cheese is again becoming an article 
of exportation. 

Whetstones.— Said to be of excellent quality* 

Carobs. 

Vallonea. 

Almonds. 

Soap. — The habits of the eastern nations lead to a 
great consumption of soap. Their ablutions are fre- 
quent ; and preferring fingers to knives and forks, they 
find themselves obliged, after eating, to wash with soap 
and water. We have often admired the dexterity 
with which the servants manage this ceremony. The 
water is always poured from a vessel with a spout, 
resembhng one of our coffee pots, upon the hands, 
which are held over a basin, and the operation is a 
very comfortable one, while the habit itself of personal 
neatness is conducive to health. 

Crete possesses many manufactories of soap, and 
this article, which is of an excellent quality, is exported 
to all the countries in the Levant. Olive oil is used in 
its manufacture. The silks of Crete go to Trieste ; the 
raisins to Tunis, Malta, and Trieste ; the carobs to 
Malta, Genoa, and Constantinople ; the vallonea to 
Trieste; and the almonds to the Black Sea. The 
other articles of produce principally to Turkey. 

Crete imports from the Adriatic Gulf boards and 
nails, now much wanted for the construction and repair 
of houses, — from Germany and England, cloths, cot- 
tons, calicoes, &c. A few articles of American manu- 
facture find their way there indirectly. Colonial pro- 
ducts, coffee, rum, sugar, &c., are supplied by Trieste, 
Marseilles, and Malta ; leather by Leghorn and Rus- 
sia ; iron by Trieste ; corn, when necessary, by the 
Black Sea, Macedonia and Anatolia ; rice by Alexan- 
dria and Piedmont ; butter by Africa ; and cod fish by 
France. 

The commercial relations of Crete are principally 
with Syra and Trieste, which serve as entrepots, 
whence the articles required are imported, from time to 
time, in small quantities. 

The pre-existing commercial regulations through the 
Turkish empire must undergo great changes in conse- 
quence of the tueaties recently negotiated by France 
and England at Constantinople. The principles will 
no doubt be extended to all other nations. If faith- 
fully executed, the odious monopoly established by 
Mehemet Ali in Egypt will be abolished, and that un- 
fortunate country delivered from one of the heaviest 
oppressions under which it labors. But the Pasha is 
shrewd, avaricious and unprincipled ; and he may fin4 



Island of Candia. 



11 



the means to render abortive all the efforts of the com- 
mercial interest of western Europe, to open its natural 
channels to the trade of Egypt. This system of mono- 
poly, the last and worst contrivance of vice regal cu- 
pidity, has not found its way into Crete. The Egyptian 
merchant — for the Pasha is the only free merchant in 
his metropolitan country — has yet spared his conquered 
provinces thisinfliclion. He may be waiting the firmer 
consolidation of his power and the final settlement of 
the questions pending between him and his nominal 
sovereign, but actual rival, the Sultan. His recent 
victory near Aleppo, and the death of his personal 
enemy Mahmoud, and the consequent stirring events, 
which at the moment we are writing are going on in 
the east, seem to assure to him the great object of his 
ambition — the establishment of an independent and 
hereditary government in his family. 

The import and export trade of Crete is fettered 
with few impositions, and many other countries might 
draw a profitable lesson in political economy from 
Turkish and Egyptian moderation. The goose is al- 
lowed to lay its golden egg daily, without the fear of 
death to extract from it the precious deposit, and thus, 
in the fallacious hope of immediate acquisition, to sa- 
crifice both present and future. The duties of entrance 
and clearance are three per cent, without any addition 
for coastage transportation. There is neither tonnage 
nor wharfage nor light-house duty, and the pilotage is 
in fact whatever the vessels please to pay, for the 
regular allowance is but three piastres, say fifteen cents. 
As to manifests, and all the machinery of custom 
house security against frauds, the Cretan regulations 
make short work of them. The captain or merchant 
interested in the importation or exportation, makes his 
declaration at the custom house, and the afiair is 
finished. 

The jMahometan governments meddle but little with 
foreigners living within their d6minions. ^As long as 
these refrain from any acts compromitting the public 
peace, they are left to the jurisdiction of their own 
consuls. This jurisdiction is aided, if necessary, by the 
local police, and the consuls are vested with very ex- 
tensive and summary powers over their fellow country- 
men. If a foreigner commits an offence against the- 
peace of the island, he is delivered to his proper consul, 
who tries and punishes him agreeably to the laws of 
his own country. Formerly, whenever an injury was 
committed by a foreigner, a tax or avanie was levied 
upon the whole body of foreigners, and a fund thus 
raised, by which the innocent paid for the crimes of the 
guilty. But all this is changed, and not only has the 
tax disappeared, but the offender is referred, as we 
have seen, to the jurisdiction of his own consul. The 
subjects of the new kingdom of "Greece are yet liable 
to some vexatious restrictions, the result of the feeling 
inspired by recent events, and perhaps by the relations 
of language, religion and manners, which connect them 
with the great body of the Cretan people. But these 
precautions will gradually disappear, and the Greeks be 
admitted fully to participate in the freedom enjoyed by 
other foreigners ; which, in fact, amounts almost to 
immunity. 

The average annual importations of Crete are esti- 
mated at 25,300,000 piastres, equal to $1,265,000, 
g.nd the exportations at 22,500,000 piastres, equal to 



,$1,125,000. The number of vessels which entered in 
1S37 was 717, with a total tonnage of 30,532 tons, and 
manned by 4,992 men. The number which cleared 
during the same year was 730, with a tonnage of 31,629 
tons, and with crews amounting to 5,577 men. 

The revenues of the island for the same year are ex- 
hibited in the subjoined statement : 

Piastres, 
Taxes on agricultural produce, 4,850,000 

Rent paid in kind by the farmers of the go- 
vernment lands, 500,000 
Capitation tax, 890,000 
Duties on oil exported, 1,050,000 
Duties on soap exported, 705,000 
Duties on other exports, 120,000 
Custom house duties on goods imported, 210,000 
Duties on agricultural produce, paid at the 
gates of the several cities, equivalent to 
the active duties of France, 180,000 
Duties on certain articles to defray the ex- 
penses of the cities, 171,000 
Receipts from courts of justice, 150,000 
Receipts from lazzarettos, 100,000 

8,926,000 
Equal to $446,340. 

The expenditures during the same year were as fol- 
lows : 

Salary of the governor, 2,200,000 

Pay, rations, &c., of the Arab troops, 3,500,000 

Pay, rations, &c., of 1,300 Albanians, irre- 
gular troops, 3,500,000 
Salaries of the members of the three coun- 
cils, and incidental expenses, 600,000 
Salaries of the treasurer, clerks, &c., 120,000 
Salaries of the members of the courts of jus- 
tice, and the officers of the custom house, 100,000 
Salaries of those employed to collect the 
taxes imposed on certain articles to defray 
city expenses,* 120,000 
Salaries of officers of the lazzaretto, and in- 
cidental expenses, 70,000 

7,910,000 
Equal to $395,500. 

We annex as a statistical curiosity the following 
abstra,ct of the extraordinary expenditures made by 
Mehemet Ali in Candia, since the island came into his 
possession ; a portion of which, were for works of in- 
ternal improvement. 

Piastres, 
For building at Candia a small lazzaretto, 
where vessels with clean bills of health only 
are received, 30,000 

Do. do._ atRetimo, " 20,000 

* Do. do.' at Spinalonga, 20,(j00 

Do. do. atLontia, 15,000 

Do. do. do. * ^ ' 65,000 

For building a lazzaretto at Suda, where all vessels 
are received, ccuiiing with foul bills of health, 
and infected or suspected merchandize, 1,146,500 
Repairing and partly»clearing port of RetimOj 171,^0 
Repairing the port of Candia, 575,000 

Repairing the fortress of Canea, 230,000 



Amount carried over, 



2,323,000 



12 



Island of Candic 



Piastres. 
Amount brought over, 8,323,000 

Repairing the fortress of Carabonsa, 65,000 

Repairing the arsenal at Canea, 50,000 

Repairing the fortress at Suda, 50,000 

Cost of machinery for clearing port of Canea, 380,000 
Cost of an aqueduct at Candia, 305,000 



(Equal to $166,150.) 3,173,000 

When the allied powers of Europe interfered effica- 
ciously for the establishment of ihe kingdom of Greece, 
considerations of policy prevented the annexation of 
Candia to the ne«v slate ; to which union it was called 
by the wishes of its inhabitants, whose language, asso- 
ciations and interests connected them with their brethren 
of the same stock, the descendants and remains of the 
subjugated eastern empire. However, the island was 
not r€s:or<d to the Turks, but was secured toMehemet 
All, in whose possession indeed it had been for some 
time. He was required to govern it witliout the impo- 
sition of any Dew taxes; a condition which, if faith- 
fully observed, would go far to defeat one of the prin- 
cipal objects of Mahometan governments — which is to 
wring from the wretched population all the money that 
power can procure and poverty furnish. In the present 
coostitQlion of the island, it is governed by a Pasha, 
whose aathority is in fact unlimited, but whom the 
policy of the Vice Roy has surrounded with some in- 
atkncioBB having the appearance of a representative 
character. And though no usefully practical result, 
Id any great extent, has yet been obtained, because the 
dements of administrative knowledge are sparsely 
aoDorig the Turkish population, siill ihe ex- 
is an interesting one, and it is to be hoped it 
win be cootinued, and lay the foundatiort of a gradual 
Befiontioo in the pofitical institutions of the island. 
Tfce whole country is divided into twenty cantons, each 
cf whkfa seods two members to their proper municipal 
coaaeiL There are three of these councils— k>ne at 
Candia, one at Retimo, and one at Canea. One of ilu 
depalics from each canton is a Greek, and the otl 
Tork; though this regulation has not been invaria! , 
obHarred, in consequence it is said of the difficulty of 
iatfog competent persons. Bui there is a singular dif- 
the application of (his charge of jncompc- 
ooe of oar authorities referring it to the Greeks 
the other to the Turks. These councils have a le- 
well as a judicial power. They frame the 
laws and try and punish the breaches of them. But 
Ae painof de^h cannot be inflicted without the appro- 
totion of the goTemor. In addition to these duties, 
they hoTe voportaot administratfve powers, such as thr 
eufiMceoient of the regulations concerning the public 
^f^Ifir, the fixing of the price of provisions, the supcr- 

rendence of the puWic works, &c "The depuiie.s 
--. a trifling salary, and hfing rather nominated hy 
^mor than elected by the people, cannot be sup- 
pr s^>f: CO be very iodependcmL** 

We cannot clooethis sketch without acknowledging 
O'lr ohii^auon to Mr. Bonnal, the consul of the United 
Slaf^^s at Canea. Hi« long we^idence in the island, to- 
gether with his general information, gives great authen- 



ticity to b statements, and he seems as eager to com- 
municatj 1 the traveller is to collect. He enjoys a 
high repuuon at Canea, and deservedly so, and is a 
most worT representative of our country in that re- 
mote pi:tv. We know no subject in the legislation, 
"h our external relations, which demands 
ind urgent attention than the situation of 
our iblishments, more particularly those 

placc' jian countries. Almost every where, 

indeed, .; -. :ice of American consul is little better 
than nn ernosynary employment. Scattered over 
the g' ioned at all the interesting commer- 

cial ! I'tRoers are dependent upon casual 

fees- xccpt in a very few instances, inade- 

qurtt [>ort. On the continent of Europe, at 

1 1'.cs, these fees are principally com- 
upon the American traveller for the 
• rt; that is, for the certificate of the 
c otiicial seal, that he has examined the 

passj ispensable ceremony — without which 

the I. uld find his journey arrested by the 

police, ii ■ is lax is paid with much reluctance, and 
in fa<^' ' ' ' »>e abolished. But a substitute, how- 
ever, iinmcdiately provided by law in an 

^ vancc. And, what is still worse, many 

rnditures made by the consuls are 
i<ii V ■ remunerated, because there is no 

legal , ihcir allowance. 

Th American mission at Canea, at the 

lienil Ir. Benton — a worthy man — devoting 

i to the task he has undertaken, prin- 

>n of youth. He has met with some 
' local authorities, but we understand 
lo a belter knowledge and a more cor- 
rici of Ws motives and objects, and we 

onl-i i.ke for the island a more interesting 

ic firm establishment of this mis- 
No Am- • t these little bands of pilgrims, 
wliii li ].'- : jw sends forth to every benighted 
iJ, without an emotion of pride and 
I . as it is profound. With a devotion 
at cm 1 enlightened, these generous apostles 
"t ■ y and education, gird themselves up 
abandoning their native land with all 
(t uii' i>, - ■ I ; L.> regions, marked by ignorance, into- 
leranre and laery as their own. They go indeed 
under the st -rpanglcd banner, but it is neither to 
gather ri< Ik s ir to carry war. Higher and holier sen- 
luueni II to the journey, and support them 
ill III' re called upon to encounter. It was 
> visit several of these establishments 

• found that their inmates had con- 

• of the native inhabitants and were 
iiion of future usefulness. These 
riK^ral desert are indeed refreshing, 
1 American, as tributes oT the gene- 
rous 'uitry to these regions of early civi- 
liznth -erely hope they may continue to 
mull: I sh, and that the fructifying streams 
from continent which give them nourish- 

I ment, may luifail in their supplies. 



12 



Island of Candia. 



Amount brought over, 
Repairing the fortress of Carabonsa, 
Repairing the arsenal at Canea, 
Repairing the fortress at Suda, 
Cost of machinery for clearing port of Canea, 
Cost of an aqueduct at Candia, 



Piastres. 

2,323,000 

65,000 

50,000 

50,000 

380,000 

305,000 



(Equal to $166,150.) 3,173,000 

When the allied powers of Europe interfered effica- 
ciously for the establishment of the kingdom of Greece, 
considerations of policy prevented the annexation of 
Candia to the new state ; to which union it was called 
by the wishes of its inhabitants, whose language, asso- 
ciations and interests connected them with their brethren 
of the same stock, the descendants and remains of the 
subjugated eastern empire. However, the island was 
not restoreid to the Turks, but was secured to Mehemet 
Ali, in whose possession indeed it had been for some 
time. He was required to govern it without the impo- 
sition of any new taxes ; a condition which, if faith- 
fully observed, would go far to defeat one of the prin- 
cipal objects of Mahometan governments — which is to 
■wring from the wretched population all the money that 
power can procure and poverty furnish. In the present 
constitution of the island, it is governed by a Pasha, 
whose authority is in fact unlimited, but whom the 
policy of the Vice Roy has surrounded with some in- 
stitutions having the appearance of a representative 
character. And though no usefully practical result, 
to any great extent, has yet been obtained, because the 
elements of administrative knowledge are sparsely 
scattered among the Turkish population, still the ex- 
periment is an interesting one, and it is to be hoped it 
•will be continued, and lay the foundation of a gradual 
melioration in the political institutions of the island. 
The whole country is divided into twenty cantons, each 
of which sends two members to their proper municipal 
council. There are three of these councils — one at 
Candia, one at Retimo, and one at Canea. One of the 
deputies from each canton is a Greek, and the other 
Turk ; though this regulation has not been invariably 
observed, in consequence it is said of the difficulty of 
finding competent persons. But there is a singular dif- 
ference in the application of this charge of incompe- 
tence ; one of our authorities referring it to the Greeks 
and the other to the Turks. These councils have a le- 
gislative as well as a judicial power. They frame the 
laws and try and punish the breaches of them. But 
the pain of death cannot be inflicted without the appro- 
bation of the governor. In addition to these duties, 
they have important administrative powers, such as the 
enforcement of the regulations concerning the public 
health, the fixing of the price of provisions, the super- 
intendence of the public works, &c. " The deputies 
receive a trifling salary, and being rather nominated by 
the governor than elected by the people, cannot be sup- 
posed to be very independent." 

We cannot close this sketch without acknowledging 
our obligation to Mr. Bonnal, the consul of the United 
States at Canea. His long residence in the island, to- 
gether with his general information, gives great authen- 



ticity to his statements, and he seems as eager to com- 
municate as the traveller is to collect. He enjoys a 
high reputation at Canea, and deservedly so, and is a 
most worthy representative of our country in that re- 
mote place. We know no subject in the legislation, 
connected with our external relations, which demands 
more prompt and urgent attention than the situation of 
our consular establishments, more particularly those 
placed in Mahometan countries. Almost every where, 
indeed, the office of American consul is little better 
than an eleemosynary employment. Scattered over 
the globe, and stationed at all the interesting commer- 
cial points, these officers are dependent upon casual 
fees— altogether, except in a very few instances, inade- 
quate to their support. On the continent of Europe, at 
some of the consulates, these fees are principally com- 
posed of charges upon the American traveller for the 
visa of his passport; that is, for the certificate of the 
consul, under his official seal, that he has examined the 
passport — an indispensable ceremony — without which 
the traveller would find his journey arrested by the 
police. But this tax is paid with much reluctance, and 
in fact ought to be abolished. But a substitute, how- 
ever, should be immediately provided by law in an 
annual fixed allowance. And, what is still worse, many 
indispensable expenditures made by the consuls are 
left without being remunerated, because there is no 
legal provision for their allowance. 

There is a little American mission at Canea, at the 
head of which is Mr. Benton — a worthy man — devoting 
himself zealously to the task he has undertaken, prin- 
cipally the education of youth. He has met with some 
difficulties from the local authorities, but we understand 
these are yielding to abetter knowledge and a more cor- 
rect appreciation of his motives and objects, and we 
could scarcely invoke for the island a more interesting 
institution than the firm establishment of this mis- 
sionary undertaking. 

No American can meet these little bands of pilgrims, 
which his country now sends forth to every benighted 
portion of the world, without an emotion of pride and 
patriotism as pure as it is profound. With a devotion 
at once ardent and enlightened, these generous apostles 
of religion, morality and education, gird themselves up 
to their task, and abandoning their native land with all 
it offers, go forth to regions, marked by ignorance, into- 
lerance and misery as their own. They go indeed 
under the star-spangled banner, but it is neither to 
gather riches nor to carry war. Higher and holier sen- 
timents impel them to the journey, and support them 
in the trials they are called upon to encounter. It was 
our good fortune to visit several of these establishments 
in the east, and we found that their inmates had con- 
ciliated the respect of the native inhabitants and were 
laying the foundation of future usefulness. These 
green spots in the moral desert are indeed refreshing, 
and doubly so to an American, as tributes oT the gene- 
rous zeal of his country to these regions of early civi- 
lization. We sincerely hope they may continue to 
multiply and flourish, and that the fructifying streams 
from the western continent which give them nourish- 
ment, may not fail in their supplies. 






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